Slipping LSU can still 'dream' of fast finish; Josh Smith questionable for Arkansas series

The LSU baseball team, not ranked and not in the top 50 in Ratings Percentage Index, has nine Southeastern Conference games to make a mark by improving its slipping record of 26-19 overall and 10-11 in the SEC.

The Tigers have lost five of their last six league games on a road trip to South Carolina, where it was swept, and No. 5 Ole Miss, which took two of three. A potential Super Regional host site is all but out the window, and the Tigers will have to finish strong just to host the NCAA Regional round.

LSU hosts No. 4 and SEC West leading Arkansas (32-13, 13-8 SEC) in a three-game series beginning at 7 tonight at Alex Box Stadium. The series continues at 7 p.m. Saturday on the SEC Network and at 2 p.m. Sunday.

"Let's dream a little bit and see what happens over the course of the next two weeks," LSU coach Paul Mainieri said at a luncheon at the L'Auberge Casino just outside Baton Rouge on Tuesday.

After Arkansas, LSU's schedule finally lightens up as it will host struggling and last-place Alabama (23-23, 5-16) before closing the regular season at Auburn (31-14, 10-11).

"I would not be surprised if we make one of our patented LSU Tiger late season runs," Mainieri said. "And in two weeks, let's look at the standings and see where we are."

Mainieri's LSU teams have historically finished strongly. The Tigers over the last three weekends of the previous five regular seasons finished 8-1, 8-1, 7-2, 5-3 and 7-2. But those teams did not have the injury issues of this team, which also had quite a turnover from the 2017 Tigers who tied Florida for the SEC championship and reached the College World Series championship series before losing to the Gators.

"I don't think it's a surprise anymore," Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn of LSU not being ranked for the first time since 2011. "Everybody's so good, and there's a lot of turnover. They lost a lot of good players off that team last year that finished second in the country. Nothing really surprises me anymore."

LSU is just two games out of second in the West, but it is also only one game better than fifth place Mississippi State at 9-12.

"There are a lot of good teams out there," Van Horn said. "It's kind of a trend that you're not going to have a year where it doesn't go your way. But when you look at it, they're just a few wins away from the top 25 and hosting a regional."

Mainieri did not expect sophomore third baseman Josh Smith to play this weekend because of his back injury. Smith returned last weekend at Ole Miss after missing all but the opening three-game series of the season. He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in the first two games and aggravated his back. He did not play in the Saturday finale of the series. Ole Miss won the opener 14-3, dropped the second game 5-2 and won the third game, 9-8.